Champion French jockey Christophe Lemaire is booked to ride  the impressiveJapanese stayer Bande in the Melbourne Cup.

Bande ripped home by 5 lengths to win at Listed level over 2600 metres in Japan on August 10.

The five-year-old has raced against many top class Japanese gallopers, earning more than $1.3 million in his 12 starts. Bande is  now listed as the second favorite at $15 for this year’s Melbourne Cup (Ladbrokes). He is likely to arrive in Australia on September 20 along with another well-fancied Japanese galloper Admire Rakti.